Baby Carrot

We have been crazy the past few weeks. Branden had a great Father’s Day! There was lots of playing and swimming. We had brunch with Branden’s family at a wonderful Italian restaurant in Flower Mound, we came home for naps then my side came over for a pool party. It was lots of fun!

Branden and I went out with 3 other couples to Cool River for a great dinner and dancing. We had fun but very quickly realized that we all were not getting old but just out of practice. I enjoyed eating my entire dinner without having to get up or being interrupted.

On Monday 6/19 Garrett took off walking and has not slowed down since. He is walking about 75% of the time now. He will still crawl if he is tired or pushing a car. I think that he is much happier now that he is walking. He is getting too tall, he can reach the things that I have pushed back on the tables. He is talking more and more. If anyone needs a translator let me know. For example when he is thirsty he says, “ducka, ducka, ducka”. I think that his is trying to say drink. Oh well, we understand each other.

This past Wednesday I had a fundraiser for my breast cancer walk at Fox and Hound in Lewisville. We raised almost $400 per person. We were happy since this was our first one. The walk is in October so if anyone would still like to make a donation there is time. My goal is to have all of my money by September. I still need about $1300 in order to walk.

http://www.the3day.org/Dallas06/cwilliams

We went to the Lake again this weekend. Garrett loved sitting in the water throwing rocks. He enjoyed the waves washing over his lap. He also went on his first boat ride to feed the ducks. He threw the bread saying, “Hi, Duck quack, quack”. He liked the boat rocking and he was trying to catch the wind in his hand. We went back to play in the water when he started getting too hot.

Branden is gone this week but is taking vacation starting on Friday and will be off all next week. Garrett and I can’t wait. We are getting ready for our annual 4th of July party on Saturday and hope to see everyone there.

We are getting together with our friends twice this week so if you would like to see us give us a call. I will try to fit you into Garrett’s social schedule. We would love to see you!

Have a great week and check out the new pictures and videos.

We went to our lake house this weekend on Lake Whitney and Garrett was cranky most of the time. I think that his shots and teeth were bothering him. Friday night he was playing in the living room and let go of the coffee table and walked into the kitchen. He took off a few other times but is still mainly crawling. When he would walk he would start laughing and fall down. He will get the hang of it soon. He did enjoy playing in the water and driving his car. Garrett was so exhausted Saturday night he almost fell asleep while Branden was holding him. He was better when we got home and he is eating like a horse. Oh, I did find another molar that is coming in, that makes 2 in front coming in and 2 molars. Ouch!

We had swimming lessons today and Nono came with us. She took pictures with my little digital camera. They only have natural light coming in so it is a little dark. The camera was also having issues focusing but you will get the idea. Branden will go with us and he can bring the other camera and take better shots. Nono did do a good job with what she had; it is not the camera for action shots.

Check out the new pictures!!

We had a great holiday weekend. We spend a lot of time in the pool and with friends and family. Garrett had a party at Jack’s house with a lot of his friends, the dads got to meet each other and the moms enjoyed margaritas. Good time for everyone. The best part is that we got to spend time with Branden and he was home this entire week. It is great to have him home.

Garrett did start swimming lessons last week and he is a little fish. He is catching on very quickly and loves going down the slide into the pool. His favorite part is splashing.

Garrett is walking farther everyday. He is getting more confident and sure about his balance. He will take off running any day now. When he gets going he starts laughing and falls down.

We went to the doctor for Garrett’s 15 month check up today. He whined and was upset while we where there. He had a runny nose last week and has been cranky. He got one of his 12 month molars and 2 of his bottom teeth all at the same time. His bottom gums are red and swollen. I feel very sorry for him. He weighs 21 pounds (10-25%) is 32 inches long (50-75%) and his head is 19 inches (50-75%). He is following his curve perfectly, looks like he is going to be tall and skinny like his daddy. While he was having his exam his doctor gave him a flavored tongue depressor to suck on. He had cherry and grape Branden tasted the cherry one and he said it was very good. They didn’t have those when I was a kid.

We are off to my family’s lake house on Lake Whitney for the weekend. We are going to celebrate Nono and Pop’s birthdays. I need to finish packing so we can leave when the little man wakes up.

Have a great weekend!!

Whew what a weekend it was!!

Friday Teri and the girls came over for the day. We went to a really cool park in Highland Village called Kids Kastle. We had a picnic there and fed the ducks. Abigail took us all down many slides. Then, after everyone took a good nap we went to our favorite ice cream store, Paciugo Italian Gelato. It is very yummy!

Abigail had her 4th birthday party on Saturday so we spend the day at her house and had a great time. She got a swing set for her birthday and Garrett enjoyed swinging and going down the slide. Wee! Oh, he also liked the cake and ice cream and the pizza. He was very busy but Meema got in a few squeezes. By the end of the day we had a very tired little man.

Sunday, being Mother’s day and all Branden left for a business trip. He made me breakfast and gave me my gift. Branden and Garrett gave me a gift certificate for a spa package which I look forward to using. Garrett and I dropped Branden off at the airport and we were off to the Keck’s house once again. We had fajitas and enchiladas from On the Border. Garrett and I went to Nono and Pop’s house to spend the rest of the day. I did not plan on having dinner there but I am glad that we did. From Garrett’s reaction when Nono tried to put him in his car seat he had a great time and did not want to leave. He started crying very hard and saying, ‘Nono, Nono’ and he had a death grip on her shirt. He put his head on her shoulder and did not want me. Finally, I got him away from her and in his seat, he calmed down and we were on our way back home.

We did find out that Garrett does not like to crawl in the grass. So he would pull up on us and walk both holding on to our hands and a few steps without. He is getting very good at his balance. This week he is walking more and more and he is building his courage. We went to Toys r Us today after Kindermusik and he used a gift card that he got for his birthday and bought a walker that he can push. He loves it!! I have posted a few videos of him cruising around upstairs. The only thing that I don’t like about it is that he can not pull up on it, as you will see from the videos. He is also walking around just holding on to one of my fingers. It is very sweet. He has a lot of things to show his Daddy when he gets home.

We had our last Kindermusik class today. Garrett enjoyed the class and I am sure that we will enroll again. I think we are going to take the summer off. I do need to enroll him in swimming lessons.

Check out the new pictures and videos. It may take awhile for the videos to download but just wait for it, it will come up. Enjoy!

We all finally got over the mean stomach bug. I hope that you don’t get it, it is bad! I cleaned and bleached the house last week so if it was still here it in dead now. It took Garrett over a week to get back to normal and he lost some weight. He finally got is appetite back and he is hungry!

Garrett has been a party animal lately. We celebrated my birthday with a party with Nono and Pop on Sunday. My parents came over for dinner and my mom made her delicious banana pudding. Garrett is a huge fan of banana pudding, we found out. My birthday was on Monday and Teri and the girls took me and Garrett out to lunch. Garrett enjoyed playing with them. Sydney rolled over for the first time while they were here. While Garrett was napping I ran a few errands and used some of my birthday money to get a pedicure. When I got home Mimi was here with a gift for me and she was playing with Garrett. Branden picked up dinner and made me a birthday martini. It all was very yummy. He said he was going to make arrangements for us to have a nice dinner on Friday.

Garrett’s friend Anderson had his birthday party yesterday and we had a great time. While we were there I was talking to the other moms about Garrett having a bad day. He was cranky, not eating well and not sleeping well, that is not normal for him. They said that they use gripe water and swear by it. Amy gave me a bottle and I gave some to Garrett and in 5 minutes he was back to normal. I have used it a few more times when I can tell he is having trouble with his teeth and it seems to help him. Anything at this point that helps we will use. Garrett has another party to go to tomorrow.

Oh, Garrett did get a black eye last week. He was standing up by Branden’s desk and lost his balance and hit his face on the wheel of the office chair. We were both there and scooped him up but he did not cry as long as I thought he would. He had a nice shiner for a few days but is all better now. He will take a few steps here and there but still is not that interested in walking. We are doing what we can to encourage him but he knows he can get there faster by crawling. He will get there; we are not in any hurry.

How many birthday parties have you been to this week?

It was bound to happen eventually but I was hoping it would happen when Garrett was 37 so I would not have to deal with it. But it didn’t and he got a stomach virus and it is no fun. We went for a walk this morning with Ashley and he was fine. He started coughing after I put him down for his morning nap, then I heard the very distinctive BLECH! I ran up the stairs and he was sitting up in his bed with his breakfast all over him. I put him in the tub since he had it all over him that was about 11am. He was sick all morning, and only wanted to be held.

Branden was at the airport trying to get an earlier flight home from Seattle. So, I called in reinforcements and Branden’s parents came over. I needed to clean the floor, get laundry going and eat lunch to name a few things. They picked up a few things for me at the store and Peggy held Garrett while I took care of things around the house. He did sleep for about 1 hour in his bed then woke up and got sick. He finally was able to go 1 hour without getting sick so I gave him a tablespoon of pedialyte every 10 minutes for about 1 hour. He did fine so I gave him a popsicle. He ate it so fast it all came back up. We started all over. He went another hour fine so we gave him another tablespoon and put him to bed. He has been quiet since. I hope that tomorrow we will be getting back to normal.

Garrett celebrated his 2nd Easter and had a blast. He had 3 Easter’s to be exact. He really got into finding eggs and putting them in the basket at Nono and Pop’s house. He was all worn out when we left but he slept in the car and went straight to bed when we got home. He woke up in a great mood and we were off to Mimi and Papa’s house, where he got another Easter basket and more toys. We really have not introduced him to candy so he was not interested in that. We all had a great day!

Garrett woke up this morning with a runny nose and the sneezes. I think it is allergies. He is rubbing his eyes and his nose. I gave him benadryl and he seems to be better. Poor little guy. Hopefully he did not catch a cold from his friends. If he did we will just give it back to them when they get better. Just Kidding! We love our friends.

I have put up a lot of pictures so check them out! Hope everyone is staying cool during our heat wave.

Check out the picture of Garrett with the Easter Bunny! We went on Wednesday with my Mom to meet him and Garrett was great, no crying or anything. He was very interested in his hands though, they are very furry. Anyway, the picture is a little rough since it was scanned in, but you get the idea. I will put up new pictures soon. Happy Easter everyone, from our carrot to yours. http://www.brw.net/gallery/v/FamilyFun/babycarrot/bunny06/

It took 13 months but he finally did it. Garrett took his 1st steps this weekend!! He did it a few times but has not been interested in doing it since. It will happen soon enough, I’m not in any hurry. He is getting to be so much fun! I love it!

We had a very fun weekend. Teri and the girls came to stay with us while Jeff was working at the Speedway. Garrett screamed with joy when I opened the door and he saw it was them. He was very excited! We went to the park with a duck pond and fed the ducks, played on the playground and to the ice cream store. On Sunday, Nono came over and we went to a family reunion. It was nice to see Meema and L.C. they are both doing well.

We are preparing ourselves for the Easter celebration. Our schedule is packed for Sunday. We will have a great time and hopefully we will be able to squeeze a nap in.

Just a quick note to say that I am recovering from surgery just fine. I still have some numbness but it is slowly coming back. My mom is here to help out this week, which is great. I can’t get the incision wet for 5 days so we wrapped my arm with plastic and covered it with a rubber glove this morning so I could take a shower. My pain meds give me a headache so I am trying to get by without taking them. I plan on taking them tonight to help me sleep. I am keeping my arm propped up so it does not throb and to help with swelling. The swelling is slowly going down. Each day should get better.

Thanks to all of who have called to check on me!!